1. Field cf the Invention
The present invention relates to a dust gap spacer for use about the perimeter of wall to wall carpeting to enable the peripheral edge of the carpet to be cleaned with an upright vacuum cleaner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, wall to wall carpeting is widely used as the floor covering of choice throughout many commercial establishments and residences. Wall to wall carpeting is durable and conceals dirt and lint better than other floor surfaces. Wall to wall carpeting can be cleaned quickly and easily simply by vacuuming it with a standard, commercially available upright vacuum cleaner, as contrasted with hard floor surfaces which require mopping, buffing and scrubbing as a means for cleaning.
One significant disadvantage which has existed with wall to wall carpeting is the fact that the physical construction of conventional upright vacuum cleaners is such that the extreme peripheral margin of wall to wall carpeting cannot be vacuumed. This inaccessibility of the extreme peripheral edge of the carpeting is due to the fact that the mounting of the roller in the vacuum cleaner head that bears a brush and beater bar in a conventional upright vacuum cleaner requires a certain minimum space within the housing for the vacuum cleaner head.
A typical upright vacuum cleaner roller is about an inch and one half in diameter and must be mounted with a certain clearance from the front wall of the housing. As a consequence, when the front or side of the housing is moved into contact with the baseboard at the base of a wall, the beating and brushing effects of the vacuum cleaner terminate about one inch from the junction of the carpeting with the wall or baseboard at the foot of the wall. The marginal border of the carpeting is thereby inaccessible for cleaning and, with time, forms an unsightly margin about the entire expanse of wall to wall carpeting which elsewhere remains in attractive condition. The same peripheral margin of about one inch about the entire perimeter of wall to wall carpeting can never be cleaned and dirt settles into this peripheral marginal border area of the carpeting.
While small hand-held vacuuming systems and wand type vacuuming systems can be utilized to clean the marginal border of wall to wall carpeting which is inaccessible using conventional upright vacuum cleaners, the use of such implements over the lengthy periphery of the carpeting is quite arduous and tiresome. To clean the marginal periphery of the carpeting in this manner requires a person to bend over for a considerable period of time. An upright vacuum cleaner is far quicker and easier to use than other conventional vacuuming implements. Furthermore, it is discouraging and demoralizing to have to go over the peripheral margin of wall to wall carpeting after having previous traversed the same area with an upright vacuum cleaner. Consequently, more often than not, the peripheral margin of wall to wall carpeting is left uncleaned and with time becomes unsightly.